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Commonwealth Hotel

Description

Business TypeHotelsHistory

On Wednesday 19 January 1910 J.M. Jamieson applied to Ipswich Licensing Authority for a liquor license and approval to build a new hotel in Ipswich. He was granted a provisional certificate and allowed 9 months to build. The new pub named the Commonwealth Hotel was erected at 5 Union Place in the heart of Ipswich, next to T.C.Beirne’s and opposite the main entrance of Ipswich Railway Station.

The hotel opened October of that year featuring four sitting rooms, a bar and dining room, with 13 bedrooms. It was two storeyed and equipped with a kitchen, pantry, scullery and large cellar. Local tradesmen were engaged. H.E. Wyman of East Street was the architect, with brickwork by George Williams (Junior), and carpentry by William Thain. Messrs. A. Foote & Sons of North Ipswich was responsible for the joinery. The Riverside Foundry in Bremer Street supplied the ironwork. The hotel was painted by Messrs. Wallace and Minnet of Nicholas Street.

In line with the re-development of the Ipswich city centre and construction of the Mall in the late 1980s owners of the Commonwealth Hotel decided to update their pub too. After re-decorating and modernising, the new venue opened in July 1989 as Murphy’s Town Pub with Wayne McLachlan as owner/operator.

The pub continued to trade until 2014 when Ipswich City Council bought the business to restore it and remediate the site.

The re-constructed Commonwealth Hotel is standing on its original ground in Union Place after being de-constructed, stored and re-constructed. Next door is the newly opened (2021) Ipswich City Council administration building at 1 Nicholas Street (where Beirne's used to be.)

Previously located on this site by the 1870s was the Argyle Hotel which later became the Railway Boarding House. The boarding house burned down in 1909.

References (offline)Local Stories blog. The Commonwealth.

References (online)Licensing Court, District of Ipswich; Commonwealth Hotel, Ipswich (Queensland State Archives)$250m CBD upgrade to breathe new life in historic Ipswich as new mayor chalks up 100 days in office (ABC News)Ipswich's historic Commonwealth Hotel undergoing complete $6 million restoration (ABC News)

Images

Aerial view of Ipswich during floods, Ipswich, 1974

Aerial view of Nicholas, Bell and East Streets, Ipswich, 1978

Bremer River, Ipswich, in flood, 1974

Building of the Ipswich Mall, Ipswich, 1987

Commonwealth Hotel awning, Union Street, looking west towards Nicholas Street, Ipswich, 1960s

Commonwealth Hotel, 2023

Commonwealth Hotel, 5 Union Place, Ipswich, 1985

Commonwealth Hotel, Ipswich Mini Crafters, display at Railway Workshops Museum, North Ipswich, 2021

Commonwealth Hotel, Union Street, Ipswich, 1986

Commonwealth Hotel, Union Street, Ipswich, 2008

Commonwealth Hotel, Union Street, Ipswich, 2017

Commonwealth Hotel, Union Street, Ipswich, 2021

Video

1 Nicholas Street Foundations, September to October 2019

Commonwealth Hotel reconstruction, May 2021

Construction of 1 Nicholas Street, April 2021

Construction of Ipswich Central Library, April 2021

Ipswich Development

Visit of the Duchess of Kent , Ipswich, 1992 [2 of 2]

Histories

Electricity comes to Ipswich

Ipswich - Ipswich Heritage Study 1992 Volume 3

Ipswich - the Country Music Capital of Queensland

Ipswich Heritage Register, 1991

The Commonwealth

Images - Queensland Times

Copy of a photograph of the Prince of Wales with Ipswich soldiers at Ipswich station during his formal royal visit in 1920, January, Ipswich, 1986

Ipswich train station inundated by flood waters, Ipswich, January 1974

Images - Ips Genealogical Soc.

T.C. Beirne, corner Nicholas and Union Street, Ipswich, 1910s

Waltons, corner Nicholas and Union Streets, Ipswich, early 1980s

Images - Ips Heritage Study

Murphys Pub rear view, 5 Union Place, Ipswich, 1991

Murphys Pub, 5 Union Place, Ipswich, 1992

Maps & Plans

1918 Block Map - Nicholas, Bremer, Bell, East & Union Streets

People & Families

Henry Wyman - Architect

Businesses

C. W. Parslow, The London Tailor

Curated Collections

Hotels & Taverns

Images - Ips Cemeteries

Green (and unassociated pegs)

Images - Crowdsourced

Waltons Department Store, corner of Nicholas and Union Streets, Ipswich, September 1985

Heritage Trails

Ipswich Heritage Trail No 01: Central City

Location

Street 5 Union PlaceSuburbIpswichGeo Coordinates^[1]

Connections

Business OwnersWayne McLachlanMargaret CalvertJ. M. JamiesonIpswich City CouncilHotel LicenseesFrancis AjaxM'Rae MalcolmMary LonerganHarry GreenWilliam Harold LucasJames BrisbaneStephen BenthamEmma BenthamWilliam HartiganEmployeesPeter Sophas JohnstonePaul LoganBusinessesRailway Boarding HouseArgyle HotelRiverside FoundryWallace & MinnetA. Foote & SonsMurphy's Town PubPeople & FamiliesBlanche BassettKevin BassettWilliam ThainGeorge WilliamsH.E. WymanMcLachlan familySports GroupsIpswich & West Moreton British Football AssociationIpswich Turf ClubSoccer Referees AssociationIpswich Rugby LeagueCurated CollectionsHotels & TavernsDefining Tulmur | IpswichBecoming A City: Business & Retail

Linked To

Suburb

Ipswich

Sports Groups

Curated Collections

Hotels & Taverns

Defining Tulmur | Ipswich

Becoming A City: Business & Retail

Images

Businesses (34)

Video

Businesses (6)

Histories

Businesses (5)

Images - Queensland Times

Businesses (2)

Images - Ips Genealogical Soc.

Businesses (2)

Images - Ips Heritage Study

Businesses (2)

Maps & Plans

Businesses

People & Families

Buildings & Structures (commercial)

Businesses

Businesses

Images - Ips Cemeteries

Businesses

Images - Crowdsourced

Businesses

Heritage Trails

Businesses

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike Australian License

This licence lets you download, redistribute, translate, and remix the work, for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes only. In return, you MUST always acknowledge the original creator of the work (photographer, studio, author, etc.) and acknowledge Picture Ipswich as your source of the work. All derivatives of this work MUST be shared under the same Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you require a higher resolution copy of this work, please contact Picture Ipswich.

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Commonwealth Hotel